Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Don’t Worry / Be Happy – Part 2



James 4:10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

Humility is the basis for all other attitudes. Pride has no place in grace. To be “poor in spirit” is to be humble. Biblically speaking, to be humble is to be totally and completely accountable to God. It is not about us. We are not superior. We haven’t learned all there is to know. We haven’t arrived yet either. Strong’s Bible dictionary defines the word “poor” (ptochos in Greek) in the phrase “poor in spirit” as a pauper or a beggar, one who crouches and cowers down to hide oneself for fear, powerless to enrich. In humility, we need to acknowledge our spiritual poverty, complete unworthiness, and utter helplessness on our own, and our absolute dependency on Creator Father God. Because of our sin, we need to recognize and know our total inability to get to God on our own.

Psalm 25:8-10 “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.”

Everyone has a significant contribution potential in life. Everyone likes to be around a humble person. The opposite is the prideful, self-righteous, “all about me” person. Self-righteousness stops at death. Be righteous with Christ and live forever!

1 Peter 5:5b-6 Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.

Pastor Herk gave us three points to remember about humility. (1) Humility reduces stress. When humility comes in the door of our life, pride goes out the window and we realize that we don’t have to be perfect and everything around us doesn’t have to be perfect either. (2) Humility improves relationships. Humility works to build up and restore relationships. Nobody likes to be around self-centered and prideful people. With love and care, humbly be a light to the world, pointing the way to the foot of the cross as a witness for Christ. It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to transform the heart and God’s job to keep people humble. (3) Humility releases God’s power. When we bow down to the Lord, empty ourselves and humble ourselves before God, He will lift us up. The secret of Happiness is humility. The secret of victory is surrender to Sovereign God. The secret of independence is dependence on Almighty God. Apart from God, we can do nothing, but with the Lord, we can do anything. God put it in writing.

If you want true happiness, be poor in spirit. Don’t be afraid to say: “I was wrong. I’m sorry.” Share your faith, share the gospel of Jesus Christ and be humble.

In Christ, Brian

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